FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT MARTIAL ARTS - PAGE 3

The martial arts aren`t what you thought they were. "I can remember one of the first classes I took with Toyoda Sensei," says Tom Nagel, now an assistant instructor for his sensei (master) at the American Aikido Association run by the Japanese-born Fumio Toyoda. "One of the first things he says is, `The best thing you can do for self-defense is go out and buy a gun.` " Nagel is a tall, blond man in his early 30s. Like many longtime students of the martial arts, he is even-tempered -- far from being a blustering swaggerer whose mouth fills with dreadful oaths, or whose fists flash out at the slightest provocation.

GREENACRES CITY -- The students moved slowly and gracefully, softly swirling their arms and gently placing their feet on a carpeted floor. But their dancelike motions were deceptive. Make no mistake, these people were ready for battle. In an instant, they were prepared to punch ribs, slap faces and gouge eyes. "Sometimes we have to think like a villain would think," said Ed Parker, Grand Master of Chinese Kenpo martial arts. "We need total awareness, and we need to be logical and practical."

Kickboxer is your basic revenge martial arts movie. You`ve seen it all before: A man is severly injured in the ring and the underling brother goes into special training to beat the bad guy, teach the betting cronies a hard lesson and avenge the dignity of his family. Of course, filming a cliche has never bothered the front office at Cannon; its previous cheapo churnings have featured Charles Bronson and Chuck Norris in similar escapades. Now it`s the turn of the self-proclaimed "Muscles from Brussels," Belgian`s cinema fighter-supreme Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Career highlights: Anthony has been a martial arts instructor for 17 years, teaching tang soo do, tae kwon do and judo. Since 1996 he's been director of a juvenile diversion program and teaches kids martial arts, emphasizing the discipline and mental aspects. But first he teaches them self-respect, so they can begin to respect others. Anthony won a silver medal in tae kwon do in 1995 at an international qualifier tournament. He has been three times national champion of tang soo do and tae kwon do. He was Olympic tae kwon heavyweight champion in 1996.

Wrote this story in today's Sun Sentinel about how the Dolphins have employed former NFL lineman Jared Tomich and martial arts expert Michael Storms as consultants this offseason. Everybody I talked with around the Dolphins was enthusiastic about the effort and sounded hopeful these guys would be back once training camp starts in August. Tomich, who is a real high energy guy and is also helping out his alma mater at Nebraska, mentioned an idea I think could lead to a long-term relationship between his group and the Dolphins.

Christina and Gianna Brigida are a real sister act. The Brigida girls share a love and talent for the martial arts. Both of them earned trophies at a Fort Lauderdale competition in March, followed by award-winning performances at the South Florida Championships April 8 in Naples. Brown Belt Christina, 12, began training with Sensei Robert Mason at the University Karate Center of Plantation in 1994. Younger sister Gianna, 8, caught the bug and started her lessons with Mason in 1996. Christina is "just one step away from achieving her Black Belt ranking," said Cynthia Harnist, University Karate Center's spokesperson, "but Gianna is working hard to catch up to her big sister."

The Coconut Creek Parks and Recreation Department is set to present its Martial Arts for Kidz program at the Recreation Complex, 4455 Sol Press Boulevard. Martial arts classes for Little Ninjas are aimed at children ages 4 to 5. Kidz classes are for participants ages 6 to 8. Little Ninjas classes will take place from 9:30 to 10 a.m. on Saturdays, and Kidz classes will be from 10:15 to 10:45 a.m. on Saturdays. Pre-enrollment takes place from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and is by appointment only.

The magical Land of Oz will get a new look with tap dancing munchkins and enchanted trees that do the jitterbug when The Arts Academy of Hollywood takes the stage for its version of the classic children's tale. The school's annual end-of-the-year production will feature a cast of 150 students reenacting The Wizard of Oz with two performances at 7:30 p.m. May 28 and 3 p.m. May 29. Both shows will be at the Hollywood Central Performing Arts Center, at 1770 Monroe St. in downtown Hollywood.

COCONUT CREEK -- Employment qualifications for the city`s Community Development Department: Must have knowledge and experience in planning, designing, engineering and martial arts. Martial arts? Well, not quite. But one look at this department might give that impression, because it boasts the unusual distinction of having four officials who are masters of the ancient Oriental disciplines. Community Development Director Steve Magee, 30, is a sandan or third-degree black belt in karate; Code Enforcement Officer Tom Eddinger, 35, is a shodan or first-degree black belt in karate; engineer Garth Hinckle, 30, is a first- degree black belt in judo; and City Engineer Tom Lee, 34, holds the equivalent of a black belt in kung fu. "We baaaad.

One film into his career, and Thai actor Tony Jaa is being compared to Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li. That's heady company for an actor looking to specialize in martial-arts films, but Jaa isn't quite ready to embrace the hype. "In terms of replacing Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan or Jet Li, I would never consider that," Jaa says through an interpreter. "They are my mentors, and my masters." But if Jaa isn't ready to proclaim himself the new martial arts superstar, plenty of other people are. Fan Web sites have been abuzz about his film, Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior, since it was released in Asia and Europe two years ago. (The film opened Friday in South Florida.